Call to halt decommissioning of Tipperary water plant amid hard water concerns
A Tipperary councillor has called on the council to halt the decommissioning of a water treatment plant in the county.
At the September meeting of the Clonmel Borough District, Cllr Pat English tabled a motion calling on Tipperary County Council to secure an injunction to stop Uisce Éireann from decommissioning the Poulavanogue water treatment plant, as well as the Ragwell reservoir.
Cllr English said that the Poulavanogue plant was a reliable water supply for the town of Clonmel, and should be kept operational.
“It saddens me to think that Poulavanogue will just be closed down and not used for the betterment of the water supplies for the town going forward.
“This year alone we had a serious dry spell and an awful lot of water outages on the other two supplies, but the only one that stayed going all that time was Poulavanogue.
“Something needs to be done to try and keep that water supply for the betterment of Clonmel, if they could use that water to mix with the Monroe supply it would be able to dilute the hard water down,” Cllr English added.
Earlier this year, residents supplied by Poulavanogue raised concerns about plans to switch their supply from soft to hard water.
Local activist Joe Hawkins held a public meeting in August to discuss the changes and encourage people to make their voices heard.
Cllr English said that in other parts of Tipperary, and across Ireland, hard water was mixed with soft water to dilute it.
Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said that while no one could officially second Cllr English’s motion as it had “no basis”, she agreed with the sentiments of it.
Independent councillor Richie Molloy said that he agreed with what Cllr English was calling for, and added that the people of Clonmel “don’t realise” how much of an impact a hard water supply will have on them.
“I think people don’t realise fully the implications that are going to be when the Poulavanogue plant is phased out, and it’s being phased out as we’re speaking here.
“People will be moved to a hard water supply, mainly businesses within the town centre and it’s going to cause a lot of problems,” he said.
In response to a query from the Irish Independent, Uisce Éireann said that the Poulavanogue plant faces a number of challenges.
“The Poulavanogue Water Treatment Plant, which was built in the 1950s, has faced increasing challenges due to ageing infrastructure, limited source capacity, operational constraints and water quality risks.
“It is currently on the EPA Remedial Action List, meaning the supply is considered vulnerable,” the utility added.
“The source is also vulnerable to shutdowns and raw water quality risks, including the potential for Cryptosporidium and other microbiological issues that cannot be adequately treated at source,” they added.
This is the reason that Uisce Éireann is upgrading the water supply for Clonmel, they said, adding that the priority is to ensure water supplies into the future.
“We understand the concerns raised locally regarding water hardness. However, the priority is to ensure customers have access to a safe, secure and reliable drinking water supply,” the utility said.